


If We Must

by shewritesall



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers - Freeform, Spider-Man - Freeform, Spiderchelle, Spideychelle, ironman - Freeform, kidnap, spiderman - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-05 19:52:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 10,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15178103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewritesall/pseuds/shewritesall
Summary: Peter, Michelle, and Ned are now in college.  The three friends are enjoying themselves in Cambridge, Massachusetts, being normal college kids that live together.  Even Peter has mostly quit being Spider-Man.  At least, until something goes wrong and Spider-Man is needed.This is a Peter/Michelle (MJ) story with good ol' Ned.





	1. Chapter 1

Michelle didn't know what to think about Tony Stark.  She had moments where she liked him and times where he was nothing but a nuisance.  One thing she could constantly appreciate about him, though, was the fact that he was like a father to Peter.  The two were close and it was easy to see from far away.  She was fairly certain Tony had even signed for Peter to inherit Stark Industries when he died or retired.  Tony had treated Peter like a son for the entire six years that he had known him which meant that when Peter mentioned wanting to move out of the college dorms so he could be closer to Michelle, Tony hadn't even thought twice before buying him a house.

Michelle had ended up going to Harvard while Peter was at MIT, following in Tony Stark's footsteps.  They were both in the same town, but at different schools, making it harder to see each other the first year of college.  Tony had bought a house almost exactly between the two schools and they had moved in the next year with Ned.  That meant the three friends were always together.  Sometimes that was good, other times, not so much.

"Ned!  Next time you use all the milk put it on the list!"  Michelle yelled, annoyed at finding no milk in the fridge after pouring her cereal. 

"It wasn't me!"  Ned yelled back from upstairs in his room.  Michelle rolled her eyes and wrote 'MILK' in big letters on the shopping list.  She then turned and tried to pour her cereal back in the box and just make toast.

"Hey,"  Peter said, walking in through the garage with a grin.  He was covered in grease and oil from working on the car and Michelle refused to hug him.

"Put milk on the list next time you use it all,"  she told him, struggling with the cereal.  Peter frowned.

"I thought I did,"  he said.  He shrugged.  "Sorry.  I'm gonna go shower."

"You do that,"  Michelle mumbled.  He ran upstairs to their bedroom and turned on the shower while Michelle put away the cereal and made herself toast for dinner instead.  She made some tea as well then sat at the island and read through her notes as she ate.  It was Sunday night and she had a test in one of her classes the next day.  It wasn't a hard test, but she still felt the need to study it.

When she had finished with her studying an hour later, she put her plate in the dishwasher and drank the rest of her tea.  She put her notes back in her backpack then went upstairs to see what Peter and Ned were up to.  Ned's door was wide open and she peered inside.  He was playing a video game on his computer, but Peter wasn't in sight.  She frowned and crossed the hall to their room.  She opened the door and walked in to see Peter laying on the bed, face buried in a pillow.  He was only in sweatpants and his hair was still damp from his shower.

"Peter?  Are you asleep?"  she asked quietly. He didn't respond and she almost thought he was, but his breathing was quicker than when he was asleep so she knew he was awake.  She sat on edge of the bed and put her hand on his bare back.  He tensed then relaxed when she gently rubbed his back.  "What happened?"  she asked.  Peter turned his head so he could look at her and she saw his eyes were red.

"I had a panic attack,"  he whispered.  He sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed.  Michelle moved to sit beside him and grabbed his hand.  "I was changing and spotted one of the scars from the war and I couldn't stop myself from freaking out."  Michelle hugged his arm and he sighed, laying his head on hers.

"It's only been three years,"  she reminded him.  "You can't expect to be over it already."

"I wish I was,"  he replied.  They sat in silence for a while, not moving until Ned knocked on their door.  He peered in and smiled when he saw them.

"Are you guys up for late night bowling?"  he asked.  "Betty, Toby, and Seth are going and wanted to know if we wanted to go too."  Michelle shook her head.

"We're good,"  she said.  Ned nodded and shut the door, only to open it a second later and give them both a stern look.

"No funny business while I'm gone,"  he said.  Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Just go,"  she told him.  Ned shut the door again and hurried downstairs.  Peter and Michelle stayed in their room, sitting on the bed for another hour before Michelle suggested they go to bed early.  Peter immediately agreed, not wanting to do anything else.  After Michelle changed into her pyjamas, she crawled into bed beside him and kissed his forehead.

"I love you,"  Peter mumbled, pulling her close.  She smiled in the dark and wrapped her arms around him.

"I love you too,"  she replied.


	2. Chapter 2

****The next morning, Michelle found herself waking up alone.She frowned and sat up.Peter wasn't in their room at all and there didn't seem to be a note on the nightstand.She didn't know where he could have gone seeing as it was Saturday and he tended to sleep in on the weekend.

She climbed out of bed and went downstairs.She walked into the kitchen and found a sticky note on the box she kept all her tea in.She smiled when she recognized Peter's messy handwriting and picked up the blue sticky.

_Gone out for patrol to clear my mind.I'll be back by lunch. - Peter_

Michelle set the note down and grabbed bread to make herself breakfast.She ate at the kitchen island then cleaned her dishes.After she set them out to dry, she went back upstairs to their room to shower and get dressed.She needed to get some groceries and today was as good a day as any.

She left her hair to air dry and grabbed her keys and purse.  She locked the apartment, knowing Peter could get in through the bedroom window if he got back before her.  She wasn't planning on being gone a long time, but she didn't know how long Peter had already been out or how much longer he was planning on staying out.  

* * *

When Peter got home, he had changed out of his Spider-Man suit and back into regular clothes.Even though he wasn't going out on patrol on a regular basis, he knew he still had plenty of enemies that would love to know where Spider-Man lived.Especially once they found out Spider-Man lived with his girlfriend.

When he found the front door locked, he frowned.He hoped down the steps and lifted up the nearby flower pot to reveal a hidden key.He unlocked the door, returned the key to its hiding spot, then hurried inside.

He hadn't been gone long, but the house was empty.The grocery list was gone, though, so he figured Michelle must be at the store.He hoped she would return soon so they could have at least a little while together before Ned returned.Last night hadn't been the best night because of his flashback earlier and he wanted to make it up o her by spending time together under happier circumstances.

Just after he stepped out of the shower, he heard the front door open and slam closed.He dressed into comfortable clothes and hung his towel back up before going downstairs to see who had come home first: Ned or Michelle.

The answer was Michelle.He found her unloading groceries in the kitchen and walked over to help her.He didn't expect her to jump as much as she did when he touched her.She nearly elbowed his face, too, as she lashed out.He stepped back quickly, a look of concern on his face when he realized how panicked she was.

"Hey, hey,"he said, hands up as she spun around to face him."It's just me."She breathed heavily, closing her eyes and dropping her face into her hands.Peter frowned but didn't move forward, unsure if she wanted him to touch her or not.

"You scared me, Peter,"she said after a few seconds of recovery.Peter could have guessed that much.

"I noticed,"he replied.He held out his hand for her to take if she wanted and she happily took it."Did something happen while I was gone?Did someone hurt you?"he asked worriedly.Michelle shook her head, keeping her hand in his even though she didn't make a move to hug him.Their hands hung in the air between them as they stood almost a meter apart.

"No,"she assured him."I'm fine."

"Obviously not if you panicked like that when I touched you,"Peter objected.Michelle sighed and let go of his hand so she could finish unpacking groceries."Michelle, what happened?"

"I'm pretty sure someone followed me around the grocery store and then back home,"she told him.She pulled milk from a bag and put it in the fridge behind Peter."They never attacked me, but they followed me all morning and I thought maybe they had gotten into the house when you touched me."

"Did you see their face?"Peter asked.She shook her head."Tell me if it happens again.I had to lose a tail today before I could change and come home."

"Maybe we should let Ned know,"Michelle said.Peter shrugged.

"Maybe."


	3. Chapter 3

It was Tuesday when Michelle noticed she was being followed again.Her classes had just finished for the day and she was walking to her car when she noticed a man was watching her as he leaned against his car.She only glanced at him, forcing herself not to pay attention to him.She could still see him from her car, though, and hurried to get in.The man did the same.She locked her doors as she buckled in and backed out of her parking spot.As she pulled out of the Harvard parking lot, she noticed the man doing the same in his car, directly behind her.

She drove through town a while before going home, trying to lose him but he stayed close.She pulled out her phone at a stop light and called Peter.She knew he was in class for another ten minutes, but she hoped by some miracle he would answer.

He didn't.  She cursed and left a voicemail, telling him someone was definitely following her and had been for the past twenty minutes.  She was headed home now and if he followed her there, well, Peter had better be there soon because unlike him, she wasn't a superhero.  With that, she hung up and turned onto the highway that would take her home.  

She pulled into the garage, happy to discover the car had stopped following her.  She climbed out of her car and into the house.  Backpack over one shoulder and phone still in the other hand, she opened the door from the garage and walked inside.  Hopefully Ned was home, but he often stayed at MIT until Peter was out and they carpooled home.  

Something felt off as soon as she stepped inside.She slowly shut the door behind her, looking around the house for anything out of place.Nothing jumped out at her as odd, but she didn't relax as she set down her backpack and unlocked her phone.She was about to call Peter again when her phone rang, signalling he was calling her.She answered before it started on its second ring.

"Michelle?I just got your message,"Peter said.He sounded panicked as he yelled for Ned to hurry up and 'get in the damn car'.Michelle imagined his cussing hadn't hurried Ned up as much as made him panic too.Peter never cussed.

"Yeah, I'm at home,"  she said, going into the living room to make sure nothing was wrong in there.  "The car didn't follow me all the way home, but something's off and I can't figure out what,"  she told him.  

"I'll be there in ten minutes,"Peter promised.He hung up and she knew he was driving.She kept her phone in hand as she walked upstairs.

She had barely pushed open the door to her and Peter's bedroom when something grabbed her.  She threw her elbow back and up, hitting her attacker square in the jaw.  He let her go and she turned around to kick him in the groin.  He dropped to his knees just as another person grabbed her from behind, keeping a tight hold on her arms so she couldn't elbow him.  She stomped on his foot, but instead of releasing her, he pulled out a knife and held it to her throat.  She froze, watching as the first man slowly got to his feet and another man walked into the room.  

* * *

Peter made it to the house in seven minutes.  He had briefly told Ned how Michelle had been followed a few days back and told him she was being followed again today.  Just as he had expected, Ned panicked.  Ned didn't do too well in situations like this and Peter knew it.  

"Is she dead?"Ned asked.Peter didn't bother answering, jumping out of the car and bursting into the house.Ned followed, but at a slower pace.

"Michelle!"Peter called, looking in the living room then running upstairs.Their bedroom door was wide open, the first indicator something was wrong given that they always made sure it was shut.The next clue was the paper laying on their bed that was definitely not in Michelle's handwriting.He picked it up, but already had an idea of what it would say.

 _She's a fighter, Spider-Man.  Might not stay that way if you don't find her quick_. 

There was no signature or anything that told him where to meet them.It didn't even say what they wanted;just threatened to hurt Michelle if he didn't find her quickly.Peter really didn't like anonymous notes that threatened his girlfriend (not that it had happened before).

"Is she dead in here?"  Ned asked, finally catching up to Peter.  He walked into the room and saw Peter crumpling up a piece of paper and throwing it at the wall.  "Peter?  What did it say?"  Ned asked.  Peter just dropped onto the bed, burying his face in his hands, so Ned went over and smoothed out the paper to read it.  

"I have to go,"Peter said, standing up suddenly.He snatched the paper from Ned and folded it up, shoving it in his pocket and grabbing his Spider-Man suit from his dresser.

"What are you gonna do?Search all of Cambridge?"Ned asked.Peter gave him a sharp look and Ned realised he should probably refrain from making smart comments.

"If I have to,"  Peter answered.  He stripped down to his boxers and pulled on his suit, leaving the mask off.  "I have a trace on her.  Don't tell her that!"  

"What?"  Ned asked.  Peter rolled his eyes and pulled on his mask, activating Karen.  

"It's in the necklace I gave her,"he explained."She never takes it off."

"What can I do?"Ned asked as Peter opened the window.Peter glanced back at him, halfway out the window. 

"Call Mr. Stark,"Peter said before jumping out the window, letting Karen lead him to Michelle.


	4. Chapter 4

Michelle was not having a good day.  First, there was a pop quiz in cultures class which—even if she did well—she wasn't expecting.  Second, she had been kidnapped right out of her own house.  Her head was pounding and she had no clue where she was or how long it had been.  They had drugged her before they even left her apartment, but she knew she had been taken somewhere that didn't have heating based on how cold the room was.  Ironically, she had been left in a cold, cement room with water dripping in the opposite corner.  She was also chained to the wall, shackles around both her wrists.  All in all, her captors had definitely followed the stereotypical 'kidnap superhero's girlfriend' setup. 

"Look who woke up,"  a voice boomed.  Michelle's head snapped up, looking around for the voice.  She found a speaker in a corner across from her.  "Ah, you've found me.  I'm afraid I can't join you in person.  You know how it is." 

"I really don't,"  Michelle retorted.  "I've never done the whole kidnapping thing."  

"Really?  Does that time back in first grade not count?"  the voice asked.  Michelle froze.  She had been forcing herself to forget about that time, how had he found out about it?  Not even Peter knew.  "That's right.  I've done my research.  Let's hope your Spider-Man does the same." 

* * *

Peter was so mad he ended up punching a nearby wall.He had found Michelle's necklace, but instead of Michelle with it, there was another piece of paper.Somehow they had known the necklace was a tracker and ditched it in an empty apartment building five minutes from his apartment.Reluctantly, he unfolded the paper and read what it said.

 _Gotcha!  Now here's a riddle: the cross of Main and Pine is north of me.  I'm east of Zathorn and north of Henry.  Good luck little spider.  You have 24 hours._  

Peter tucked the note into his suit and swung back to his apartment.He found Ned on his phone with Mr. Stark and his laptop opened.When Peter climbed in through the window, Ned squealed and almost dropped his phone.Peter tugged off his mask and tossed the folded piece of paper to Ned.He heard Mr. Stark if he had arrived and Ned said yes before handing his phone to Peter.

"Tell me what's happening,"  Mr. Stark said.  Peter sighed and sat down on his bed beside Ned.  

"Some guys took Michelle,"Peter explained.He told Mr. Stark how they had figured out her necklace had a trace on it and ditched it with a note."They left a riddle with the location.Ned's working on it right now."

"Ok,"Mr. Stark said."Do you want me to come down?I can be there in ten minutes."Peter nodded before realising Mr. Stark couldn't see him.

"Please,"he said.

"Alright, kid,"Mr. Stark said.Peter could hear the sound of the Iron Man suit flying."I'm on my way.Don't do anything before I get there."He hung up and Peter gave Ned's phone back to him.

"Well, I found a map with all the streets shown and printed it on my printer,"Ned said.Peter nodded and walked across the hall into Ned's room.He picked up the printed map and walked back into his room.He grabbed a pen from his backpack and sat down beside Ned.

As Ned read the riddle out loud, Peter marked each location.In the end, he had a large rectangle.Inside the rectangle were multiple buildings.It had narrowed the location down to one neighbourhood, but not enough to make it easy to find the right building.Besides, he doubted people wanted Spider-Man breaking into their homes, demanding they give him his girlfriend.

"Well, it was kind of helpful,"  Ned said, looking at the map.  Peter just groaned and laid down on his bed.  Just after he had laid down, he heard the Iron Man suit landing at the front door.  Ned looked up when he heard someone walk into the house, but when Peter said it was just Mr. Stark, he calmed down.  

"Peter?"  Mr. Stark called.  Peter yelled back that they were upstairs and soon Mr. Stark was walking into the bedroom.  "Oh, kiddo.  Let me see what you've got."  Peter sat up and explained the map to Mr. Stark.  

"We just don't know which one it would be,"  Peter finished.  Mr. Stark nodded and looked at the map closer.  

"Half of these buildings are abandoned,"he said."How about we start there?"

"Ok,"  Peter agreed.  He stood back up and pulled on his mask.  

"What can I do?"Ned asked.Mr. Stark took off his glasses then handed them to Ned.

"Work with FRIDAY to run fingerprint and DNA scans on that paper,"he instructed.He went downstairs to get back into his suit while Peter jumped out the window, following Mr. Stark to the neighbourhood outlined on their paper map.He hoped this time they would actually find Michelle, but he doubted he would find anything more than another piece of paper.


	5. Chapter 5

Peter was right.  He only found a piece of paper.  However, the paper had an address on it and he knew where there address was.  He didn't bother telling Mr. Stark where he was going.  He didn't have time.  He had an hour to get across town and get Michelle according to the paper and he didn't want to risk Mr. Stark wanting to make a plan that would only waste precious time.  Instead, he reported he had found nothing and was heading back before disabling his suit tracker and racing across town. 

Mr. Stark must have suspected something had happened, because he tried to call Peter multiple times.  Peter refused to answer, though, telling Karen to block Mr. Stark and tell him to leave him alone.  Karen did her job and he wasn't bothered by Mr. Stark again as he swung across town.  He didn't stop even when he saw someone getting mugged.  He didn't have time and it looked like someone else was running to help the woman anyway. 

When Peter arrived at the building, he stopped and looked at it.  He drove by it whenever he went back to New York; always noting it as a good hideout and often visiting when he felt overly stressed and just wanted to be alone.  He wondered if he would just find another note or if her captors had really set up camp in his only safe place.  They must have really been watching him closely if they knew where he lived and where his secret hideout was. 

"Alright, Karen,"  Peter said, walking towards the door of the building.  "Let's do this." 

* * *

Michelle's butt hurt.  She had been sitting for hours easily and had finally stood up.  The chains on her wrists allowed her to stand and so she found herself leaning against the wall when the door to her room was pulled open.  She frowned as the three men from before walked in.  One walked over and unlocked the chains while the other two grabbed her arms tightly and led her out of the room.  

They walked down the hall and up some stairs.  Michelle didn't say anything as they walked into another room were two more men were waiting.  It's always men, she thought to herself.  Never women.  

"Look who showed up,"  one of the men said.  He gestured to a computer where security footage was showing Spider-Man walking into the building.  Michelle didn't react.  She knew that's what the man wanted.  "It only took him three hours.  I'm almost impressed."  He waited for Michelle to say something, but she remained silent.  "Now we just have to wait for him to find us,"  he informed her.  She frowned.  It was too easy.  They were making it too easy for Peter if it only took him three hours to find her.  There was something else going on. 

* * *

Peter walked through the building quietly.  He could hear voices, but they were quiet and not clear enough to understand.  Instead of trying to figure out what they were saying, he used the voices to find the people.  Where there were people, there were probably answers (and hopefully Michelle). 

He had reached the top floor when they voices stopped.  He frowned and slowly walked down the hall.  An open door to his right revealed an empty room with chain on the wall.  He was certain those weren't there two weeks ago when he last came.  That meant they did have Michelle here.  She had been moved, obviously, so they must know he was there.  That didn't stop him from continuing down the hall until he found a shut door.  He shot a web at the hinges and they exploded, the door flying backwards into the room. 

"He's here!"  a man grinned as Peter stepped into the room.  Peter counted five men which would be difficult, but not too awful.  However, there was a gun to Michelle's head and something in her eyes that told him not to do anything. 

"What do you want?"  Peter asked.  He lowered his hands, hoping the man would lower his gun, but he didn't move. 

"You don't recognise me, Peter?"  the man holding the gun asked.  Peter squinted, trying to remember if he had when Karen supplied him with the knowledge. 

"Eric Slater,"  Peter said.  The man, Eric, nodded with a smirk.  "You were involved with Toomes and the alien tech."

"You're better than I thought,"  Eric said.  "Or maybe it's just your AI." 

"Karen does know a lot,"  Peter replied. 

"You didn't just ruin Adrian Toomes' life when you exposed our life's work,"  Eric said.  Peter looked around at all of the men in the room and Eric nodded.  "All of us lost everything.  But we believe we found a new way to get money." 

"If it's illegal, you really need to re-evaluate your life, man,"  Peter said.  His eyes didn't leave Michelle who seemed to be trying to tell something.  The second she moved, though, the gun was pressed harder to her skull and Peter felt his heart drop.  The gun wasn't fired, but that didn't calm him down. 

"Where's the fun in legal?"  Eric asked.  Peter couldn't hardly focus on Eric when Michelle had a gun to her head.  Even if she looked calm (well, calm for having a gun to her head), Peter knew she was probably very worried. 

"Are you gonna tell me or leave me hanging?"  Peter replied when Eric didn't say anything else. 

"I was hoping you'd say that,"  he said.  Peter sensed them before he saw them.  More men poured into the room and tried to grab him.  He twisted around and shot web after web at them.  He was able to hold them back for a short while, but eventually they overtook him and he was on the ground, two men holding his arms down so he couldn't shoot his webs.  

He was pulled to his feet with his arms held behind his back sharply.  He tried to pull away, but the men had strong grips and he was unable to escape.  Eventually, he stopped struggling and looked back up at Eric.  Michelle's eyes were beginning to glisten and Peter was beginning to regret not telling Mr. Stark where he had gone.  Before he could tell Karen to turn his tracker back on, his mask was pulled off and a rag smothered his face.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony was furious.Not only had the kid lied to him about going home, but he had turned off his tracker so Tony couldn't hunt him down.  Then Peter had told Karen to block his calls so he wasn't able to get through to him at all.  He wondered if Ned could get through to him and shot back to their apartment.  Just as he expected, Ned was still in Peter's room and busy talking with FRIDAY.  When he asked to borrow his phone, Ned hadn't hesitated before tossing it to him.  The call didn't go through.

"Can I have my AI back, please?"  Tony asked.  Ned seemed disappointed and handed Tony's glasses back to him.  "FRIDAY, run my satellite.  Search Cambridge for Spider-Man and give me his last location." 

"Wait, did something happen to Peter?"  Ned asked. 

"He found something and left,"  Tony said.  He explained how they had been looking through the buildings when Peter suddenly said he was going home and dropped off the radar. 

"But he didn't come home,"  Ned told him.  Tony nodded, pulling out his phone and throwing up a hologram screen as FRIDAY searched Cambridge for any sign of Peter. 

"That's the problem,"  Tony said.  The map jerked around as it zoomed in and searched through the streets.  Tony looked away so he wouldn't get dizzy, but Ned seemed captivated by it. 

"So what are we gonna do?"  Ned asked.  FRIDAY came up with nothing.  Tony made her search again. 

"Don't know yet,"  Tony answered.  He glanced at Ned's computer where he had written some things down.  "What did you find?" 

"Oh,"  Ned jumped to explain what he and FRIDAY had come across.  "The finger prints belong to an Isaac Jacobs and Oscar Tride, but both of them have been missing for years.  They were involved in some illegal alien tech activity and dropped off the grid once they were found out.  You'll never guess when that was."  Tony was sure he could.  

"Sophomore year of high school,"  he said.  Ned nodded.  "They worked with Toomes."  Ned nodded again. 

"And it looks like they teamed up with another guy,"  Ned said.  "FRIDAY is so cool.  Once I pieced together these guys worked with Toomes, she was able to bring up other people that had dropped off the grid after the incident sophomore year." 

"What'd you find?"  Tony asked.  Ned's face turned grim and he changed tabs, opening a photo of a man that he had managed to pull from old SHIELD archives thanks to FRIDAY. 

"Eric Slater,"  he said.  Tony frowned and looked closer at the man.  "Familiar?  Yeah, he also worked for Hydra before joining Toomes." 

"FRIDAY, call the team and tell them to get here as soon as possible,"  Tony instructed.  He didn't take his eyes off the photo of Eric, trying to commit it to memory.  "Send them everything you and Ned found too." 

* * *

Peter woke up suddenly.He looked around the room, confused for a moment before remembering what had happened.They had overpowered him and he had been drugged.After that, he couldn't remember anything. 

"Peter!"  Michelle exclaimed when she realised he had woken up.  He frowned when he noticed she was chained to the wall opposite of him.

"Michelle?  What happened?"  Peter asked, sitting up against the wall.  He noticed she grimaced as she sat up, making him frown even more.  "Did they hurt you?"  he asked. 

"Not much,"  she dismissed.  She quickly followed it up by telling him what had happened after he was drugged.  "They took us to a different building; further out than before by the length of the car ride." 

"How far did they take us?"  Peter asked.  Michelle shrugged and he definitely didn't miss the grimace of pain.  She raised a hand to her abdomen but quickly moved it when she saw Peter had noticed.

"Not sure,"  she answered.  "At least two hours out of town.  I'm not sure where, though."  Peter watched as she gently fingered her abdomen which was obviously giving her pain.

"What did they do, Michelle?"  Peter asked.  She glanced up at him and sighed. 

"I panicked when they were able to knock you out,"  she said.  "I tried to get out of their grip to make sure you were alright and got my ribs kicked a couple times.  I'm alright, though.  I doubt there's any internal bleeding." 

"You should know better than to worry about me,"  Peter told her.  Michelle shrugged even though it caused her pain.  "I'm Spider-Man."  Michelle scoffed. 

"You were targeted and taken down,"  she reminded him.  "I think I had fair reason to panic."  Peter didn't say anything, knowing she was right.  They hadn't had to try very hard to overpower him and they had seemed to know exactly how to drug him even with his high metabolism.  They must have really done their research.  Or talked to someone who knew how to work with enhanced peoples.


	7. Chapter 7

It took the team almost a thirty minutes to get to Peter, Ned, and Michelle's apartment.They left as soon as FRIDAY told them what had happened, but the quin jet wasn't nearly quite as fast as Tony's Iron Man suit.  It didn't matter, though, because almost as soon as they arrived, FRIDAY quit working and Tony's satellite was disabled.  As soon as FRIDAY stopped, he knew something was wrong.  However, calling Stark Industries revealed nothing had gone out there and Pepper swore up and down no one was in the Tower with her that could have turned FRIDAY off.  So now, Tony was back in New York trying to fix his stuff while Ned was left with the Avengers.

The first hour of Ned and the Avengers being together had consisted of awkward conversation and introductions.  Eventually, Natasha suggested Ned tell them everything that had happened (even though FRIDAY had already told them, she just wanted to get things moving).  He did and afterwards, they managed to come up with a small plan of what to do while they waited for Tony to return.

"And I just stay here?"  Ned asked.  Steve nodded and handed him a comm.  Ned looked at it strangely and Steve explained what it was.

"That way if we find anything or something goes wrong, we can tell you,"  he said. 

"Awesome,"  Ned replied.  He struggled to put it in his ear but eventually got it in.  He turned it on and was surprised to be able to hear Rhodey and Sam downstairs.

"We're just going to go check those buildings again,"  Natasha reminded everyone.  "We need to make sure Stark didn't miss anything."

"We know, Natasha,"  Sam retorted.  Natasha rolled her eyes.  "Can we go now?"

* * *

Tony was having no luck with figuring out what had happened to FRIDAY and his satellite.He even radioed a space station nearby to see if they could explain why his satellite had stopped working.He was still waiting to hear back from them, so he had moved on to closely investigating his lab to find out how FRIDAY had been disabled.

"Tony?  What's going on?"  Pepper asked, walking into the lab to see Tony up to his waist in the floor, tugging at wiring.

"FRIDAY was killed and my satellite is dead,"  Tony answered.  He pulled himself out of the floor and sat on it, his legs dangling down into the floor.  "Peter's gone missing and so has Michelle.  Has Cap said anything about what they've come up with?"  Tony asked his new AI.

"Captain Rogers has yet to inform me of any changes,"PLATO said.Once discovering that FRIDAY was irreparable, Tony had had to activate yet another of his AIs; this one was PLATO.

"Great,"Tony muttered.He dropped back down into the floor."Let me know when he does."

"What happened to FRIDAY?Who's this?"Pepper asked, pointing to the ceiling.

"This is PLATO,"Tony answered, his voice echoing as he crouched down in the floor."Like I said earlier, FRIDAY was brutally murdered and I can't fix her.PLATO has been uploaded into everything FRIDAY was in."

"What are you doing?"Pepper asked, sighing as Tony helped when a wire shocked him.He peered up over the floor.

"Finishing up PLATO's upload into the Tower,"  he replied.  "If NASA calls, send 'em through.  I want to know who turned off my satellite." 

* * *

Michelle was pretty sure this Eric Slater guy was insane.  Sure, lots of things pointed her to this conclusion, but the one that really put the bow on the box was when he came in with a syringe and expected Peter to willingly let him take blood.  Not only was Peter renowned for being terrified of needles, he knew letting these guys get ahold of his blood was not a good idea.  Who know what they would do with it?  They could study it or sell it to someone who wanted to study it.  Either way, it probably wouldn't lead to good things. 

"Look, buddy,"  Peter said.  Slater stood up front of him, syringe in hand as he looked down at Peter.  "I'm not a big fan of needles in general, but I don't think giving you my blood is that great of an idea."

"You think you're funny, don't you?"  Eric said.  He squatted down in front of Peter and grinned.  "I don't care if you like needles or not.  I'm getting your blood.  I'll knock you out again if I have to, but I'd rather not."

"If we all got our way, this world would be a disaster,"  Peter retorted.  Eric's mock-friendly expression dropped and he motioned for his men to hold down Peter.  He stood up, handing the syringe to another man while the first few grabbed Peter's limbs to keep him from hitting or kicking someone. 

"It hurts less if you relax,"  Eric said, watching as Peter squirmed and thrashed around.  His men held him down, reducing his squirming which allowed the man with the syringe to get closer.  Peter didn't relax, so Eric gave the go ahead signal to take his blood.  Peter whimpered as the syringe was inserted into his arm and began to draw out blood.  Seconds later, the syringe was removed and the man stepped back, capping the syringe and giving it to Eric.  The other men released Peter who had stopped squirming when the syringe had come out.

"Get hers, too,"  Eric instructed, pulling out another syringe and pointing at Michelle.  She frowned, wondering why they needed her blood too.  She didn't fight them, mostly because she figured it wouldn't do any good but partially because she didn't want it to hurt more than it already would.  It only took a few more seconds for them to draw her blood before they left again, leaving Peter and Michelle to sit in their room.


	8. Chapter 8

Tony returned to Ned's apartment as soon as he had turned his satellite back on.  It had taken four days and now Tony was on the verge of panicking.Peter and Michelle had been missing for four days and he had no idea what was happening to them.PLATO was searching through the history to find where Peter had last been seen while Tony flew back to Cambridge.  When he arrived, he found Ned alone on his computer.

"Where'd everyone go?"Tony asked.Ned jumped, letting out a high pitched squeal.

"Captain Rogers went to get food, Agent Romanov went to shower, and Mr. Wilson and Mr. Rhodes are playing Wii in my room,"  Ned answered.  "Where have you been for the past four days?  We searched all of Cambridge twice."

"Fixing my satellite and AI,"  Tony answered.  He heard the door open and Steve yelled out.

"Food's here!"  he called.  Tony turned around just in time to see Sam shove Rhodey into the wall as he ran downstairs.  However, a few seconds later he shrieked. 

"Ladies first!"  Natasha told him.  Tony rolled his eyes and motioned for Ned to follow him.  The two of them went downstairs to see Rhodey rubbing his elbow from hitting the wall and Sam glaring at Natasha (who was soaking wet and wearing only a towel) as she happily picked through the bags of Chinese food.  Steve looked uncomfortable with Natasha nearly naked, looking up at the ceiling until she left.

"Tony's back,"  Rhodey announced.  Natasha groaned.  

"At least pretend you don't hate me,"  Tony told her.  She scowled at him and picked up some chopsticks.

"You being here means team meeting,"  she said.  She motioned to her towered body.  "I'm changing before any team meeting."

"If you must,"  Tony said, stepping aside and letting her pass.  The rest of them helped themselves to food.  By the time Natasha returned (fully dressed and eating her noodles), everyone had sat down at the table with food.

"What did you find, Tony?"  Steve asked.  Tony pulled out his phone and activated the hologram in the centre of the table.

"I found the last building he entered,"  Tony told them.  He showed them the building on his hologram and then zoomed out so they could get a better idea of where it was located.

"It's not that far,"  Steve pointed out.  Tony shook his head.  "Did he ever come out?"

"Interestingly enough, no,"  Tony said.  He played video from a nearby security camera that he had hacked.  It showed Peter entering and then nothing else.  "I searched through the history of this camera footage and guess who it also shows going in and not coming back out?"Tony played the footage of a man dragging an unconscious Michelle into the building followed by a few more.

"So they enter but don't leave?Maybe they're still there,"Clint suggested.Tony nodded.

* * *

Whatever Eric needed Peter's blood for, he never told them.He left them alone for days before sending people in to bother them.They were given small amounts of food and water; enough to keep them lucid and alive, but not enough to keep their stomachs from growling.

"Peter, just eat your food,"  Michelle said.  Peter had been refusing to eat it, insisting he wasn't hungry and that Michelle should eat it.  She rolled her eyes every time.  "You eat every thirty minutes at home.  I know you're hungry."  Just after she had said this, his stomach growled and she gave him a pointed look.  He sighed and ate his food, glaring at her victorious grin the whole time. 

About an hour after they had eaten, two men came into their room.Peter expected them to come ask him about the strange element in his blood, but they didn't.They went to Michelle and unchained her.She frowned and kicked out at one of them.In return, she got a foot slammed into her abdomen.She doubled over in pain as the man's foot collided with her previous wound.

"Hold up, where are you taking her?"Peter demanded.No one paid him any attention as they drug Michelle out of the room, biting and cussing them out.


	9. Chapter 9

The team had done a very thorough search of the building.  It was multiple stories tall and they had covered every floor twice each.  They didn't want to miss a single room.  In the end, they met on the ground floor without Peter or Michelle.  They hadn't even found anything that could indicate they had been here other than the lack of dust.  There weren't any broken zip ties and shredded cloth anywhere.  One thing for sure was that Peter and Michelle were not still there.

"They have to be here, though,"  Steve said.  "We saw the footage.  No other entrance or exit and they weren't seen leaving."

"It doesn't make sense,"  Sam agreed.  Natasha looked up from where she had been circling the room. 

"I think we're missing something,"  she said.  Sam rolled his eyes and muttered something about that much being obvious.  She spit a Russian curse at him and Clint flinched.  "I mean maybe this is just the top part of another building."

"We're on the ground floor, Natasha,"  Rhodey reminded her.  She looked to Tony to see if he understood what she was saying and he nodded.

"She's right,"  he announced.  "It doesn't make sense to have a forbidden facility without an exit.  It would make sense that the entrance is only in one place so you can monitor who comes in."  The others still looked confused.

"There might be a secret door that leads to a super secret lair underground,"  Natasha said.  A chorus of 'oh's came from everyone then and she nodded.  "We should look for something that could be a door or a key to something."

"It would be on this floor, too,"  Tony said.  "No use of a quick hideout if you have to go to the fourth floor for the key.

* * *

Peter sat and stared at the door for an hour.  He kept hearing sounds, but he was sure he was imagining them.  He hadn't heard anything from Eric or any of his men since Michelle had been taken and he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  What he did know is that the sounds he kept imagining were becoming more and more realistic.  When the door was suddenly opened and Michelle was dragged in, unconscious, he realised the most recent sounds hadn't been imagined.

"What did you do?"  Peter demanded.  The man that had brought Michelle back chained her back to the wall and flipped Peter off.  "What did you do?"  Peter yelled again as the man left.  He looked at Michelle but couldn't see anything wrong with her.  There wasn't a scratch on her that hadn't been there earlier, so Peter had no clue what they had done to her. 

Suddenly, she jumped awake.  She looked around the room frantically and stopped when she saw Peter.  Her eyes were wide and she looked horrified.  She moved forward, closer to Peter, and the chains on her wrists scraped the ground.  She flinched and covered her ears, looking down at the chains with disgust.

"Michelle?"  Peter asked softly.  She flinched again and covered her ears tighter.

"Everything's loud,"  she whispered.  She looked up at Peter.  "It's so loud."

"What did they do?"  Peter whispered back.  She carefully uncovered her ears, but Peter didn't need to repeat his question.  She had heard him perfectly.

"The spider gene in your blood,"  she said.  Peter nodded for her to continue.  "They separated it out from yours.  They injected me with it."  Peter's blood ran cold.  If they had figured out how to separate the spider gene from his own blood and use it to create more enhanced individuals, things weren't going to look good.

"Your senses are enhanced right now,"  Peter said.  She nodded.  "Everything's loud, bright, and things feel weird."  She nodded again. 

"I want it to stop,"  she said.  Peter knew how she felt, but he also knew she probably realised what the danger of her being successful in receiving the gene meant.

"You have to pretend it didn't work,"  Peter told her.  She nodded.  "It will take a couple days for you to get used to things, but if they find out it worked, they're going to give it to millions and create super soldiers."

"Right,"  Michelle said.  "Does this mean once we get out of here you can be my side kick?"  Peter scoffed.

"No way,"  he said.  "I was the original Spider-Man.  You get to be my side kick."  Michelle rolled her eyes.

"You wish,"  she said.


	10. Chapter 10

It wasn't hard to find the door.Tony used PLATO to scan the ground floor for anything that could lead underground and he had found it in seconds.Once they found the door, though, he was a game of hide and go seek with the key.There wasn't a key pad anywhere and there did seem to be a padlock, but the door was securely locked.At first they had thought PLATO was wrong; he had suggested that the centre of the room was unsupported.Tony had jumped on it a couple times, but the floor seemed very supported to him.He tried pulling it up, but nothing moved.

"Do you think this might help?"  Natasha asked.  Tony didn't even look up, struggling to pull the large 5 metre by 5 metre tile up. 

"I think a legion of Iron Men would help,"he grunted.Natasha rolled her eyes and suddenly the tile lifted.Tony stepped back, watching in amazement as it pulled up and revealed a cement tunnel with a steep incline.The tunnel was fully lit, lights turning on further down the tunnel after the door had been activated."That wasn't that hard,"Tony said.

"That's cause I found the key pad,"  Natasha said.  Tony looked up and say her leaning against the wall, pointing to a key pad that had been hidden behind a brick in the wall.  Tony rolled his eyes at her smug grin. 

"Let's go,"he said.No one seemed to object to the idea, so he started down the steep slope.The tunnel was wide enough to fit an entire car through and Tony had no doubt they had done that at some point.While the first part of the tunnel was steep, it was sloped only enough to get them under the building quickly and not risk tipping a vehicle over.The others followed him closely.Sam seemed less than thrilled about walking down an enemy tunnel, but Steve reminded him why they were doing it and he stopped.He had grown to like Peter and whether he admitted it or not, he wasn't going to let some mad criminal kill the kid.

They reached a fork in the tunnel and stopped.Tony scanned down each tunnel, but PLATO couldn't find an end.He tried to find out which one had been used most recently, but both had been used two days before.They had earlier decided splitting up was probably one of the worst things they could do, so that was out of the question.Tony scanned to see which tunnel went down and which went up.If one went up, it was likely returning to the surface.Thankfully, PLATO did come up and say the right went up and the left went down, so they turned and walked down the left tunnel.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"  Clint asked after they had been walking for nearly an hour. 

"No,"Tony replied.Clint's mouth dropped.

"Then why are we going this way?"he asked.Tony rolled his eyes from inside his suit.

"Because this one went down,"he answered.Clint didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but he kept his grumbling quiet enough Tony couldn't hear it.They didn't have to walk much further, though, before stumbling upon a large door that resembled a safe.

* * *

Michelle did not like having spider senses at all.She was more than willing to let Peter have them while she lived normally.Everything was loud, smelly, and bright.Not to mention the fact that her body felt like it was running on hyperdrive, always feeling like it was in danger.Peter had told her some tricks to help calm her down and keep her from going into sensory overload, but he knew he couldn't do much.It had taken him nearly three days to get used to his heightened senses and it was unfair that Michelle had hours, maybe less.They had been hoping maybe her senses would quiet quicker than Peter's, but they were still irritating her when they both heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"Peter,"Michelle said, nervously looking at him.  He moved as close to her as the chains on his wrists allowed and she moved as well, flinching at the noise.  They weren't able to reach each other, but being closer seemed to calm Michelle down.

"Just remember,"  Peter said, reaching his hand out to her.  "It didn't work."  She nodded and reached for his hand but was unable to grab it.  The door flew open and Michelle flinched at the sound of it slamming into the wall.  Men filed the room and Eric walked in, grinning triumphantly at Peter then turning to Michelle.

"How's our little experiment?"  he asked.  Michelle refused to flinch at his voice and rolled her eyes.

"I don't know what you were trying to do, but it didn't work,"  she told him.  Eric frowned and got closer to her.  "I feel the same.  Maybe a bit more hungry, but that's all."

"You're lying!"  he yelled.  Michelle jumped, unable to keep from flinching at the noise.  Her ears were ringing and she was unable to hear what he said next.

"Leave her alone,"Peter demanded, drawing Eric's attention off of Michelle.He turned to Peter and glared at him."I'm the one that ruined your life by getting rid of Adrian.Leave her alone and take your anger out on me."

"Well, since you offered,"  Eric said.  He nodded at two of his men and they moved forward to hold Peter down.  Another man moved forward and unlocked his chains.  Before Peter could even think of doing something, Eric had a gun to Michelle's head.  "You try anything and I'll shoot."  Peter let the men walk him out of the room.  He heard the doors slam shut and let Eric's men lead him down the halls to wherever they planned to take him.


	11. Chapter 11

"It's not actually a safe, Wilson,"Tony snapped.They had been trying to open the door for fifteen minutes and weren't very successful."Besides, I've already tried that code."Sam rolled his eyes.

"How would you like to go about opening it, oh great and mighty Stark?"Sam replied.Tony just turned away from Sam and focused on the door.

"I'm gonna blast it off,"  Tony announced after a minute.  "No use in a stealth entry if we can't get in.  Everyone back up."  Everyone backed up and Tony did as well.  He shot multiple tiny missiles around the door then detonated them.  The door flew off the wall and dust filled their vision.  A few of them coughed but quickly recovered and hurried through the door.  They were immediately met by two guards that looked surprised to see them.  "Hello.  I believe you took my kid."  Tony punched them both unconscious and stepped over their limp bodies. 

"We should have asked them for directions,"Steve said.Tony shrugged.

"A little late for the suggestion, Cap,"he said.He scanned the building for Peter and Michelle's heat signatures and found them a few stories below.He found an elevator and they all climbed inside.

"They have elevator music?"Clint asked as they started down.Sure enough, soft music played from a speaker in the corner of the elevator.Clint gently swayed to the music, ignoring Sam's raised eyebrow and asking Natasha to dance.She just blinked and he shrugged, continuing to dance by himself.When the elevator dinged, though, he stopped and drew his bow, fully prepared to shoot anyone he came across if it meant he got to Peter faster.

"Peter's on the left, Michelle's on the right,"  Tony told them.  They split up, Tony, Rhodey, and Natasha going left while Clint, Sam, and Steve went right.  Tony didn't hesitate to shoot down every person they came across, not letting anyone free to sound an alarm.  Every door they passed was opened and checked for Peter or people that would sound an alarm.  By the time they came to the room Peter was in, everyone else on the floor had been killed or knocked unconscious. 

"Are you sure he's in here?"Rhodey asked.Tony nodded and blasted the door down.The men inside looked up in shock, dropping what they had been holding.When Tony saw Peter's limp body hanging from two ropes around his arms, he saw red.He quickly shot every man surrounding Peter than rushed to his side.

"Oh, h-hey, Mr. S-Stark,"Peter said once Tony knelt down.He weakly lifted his head and gave Tony a small smile."Figured you'd c-come."

"What did they do to you?"Tony asked.Peter groaned as Natasha cut the rope on his right arm.He collapsed forward onto Tony's chest.

"Nothing much,"he said softly.He was still wearing his Spider-Man suit, but Tony knew something had happened to him.Peter was barely lucid and couldn't seem to talk right.He also seemed in pain."You know this suit deflects bullets?"Peter asked.Tony carefully picked Peter up and him whimpered in pain.

"They shot at you?"Tony asked.Peter's eyes fluttered shut then snapped open.

"Michelle!"he exclaimed.He pushed himself out of Tony's arms but just collapsed on the floor.He tried standing up but was unsuccessful.

"Cap's getting her,"Tony promised, picking him back up."She's alright."

"N-No!"he said, shaking his head."They—she was—new Spider-Man."Peter wasn't making any sense, but somehow Tony knew he was trying to tell them something important.

"What happened?"Tony asked, carrying Peter back to the elevator.

"They used the spider gene,"  Peter said, beginning to lose consciousness.  "Make more Spider-Mans... Formula somewhere."  He lost consciousness, but Tony knew what he was saying. 

"Natasha—"She nodded, knowing what he was going to say, and raced off the the room they had passed that was full of computers.Tony carried Peter back to the elevator and met Steve who was walking with Michelle.She had her hands over her ears and looked terrified.When she saw Peter, she grew even more panicked.

"Peter!"she exclaimed, running over to him.Tony made sure to speak softly as he explained to her that Peter would be fine, he was just tired.She didn't buy it and demanded to know what really happened.

"I don't know,"Tony said, stepping into the elevator."He didn't tell me.He was too concerned about you and then the formula they had."Michelle nodded and looked down at Peter.Natasha came running towards them, yelling for them to go.Michelle covered her ears and closed her eyes tightly and Natasha immediately felt bad for yelling.

"This place is rigged to blow in fifteen minutes,"she said.The elevator ride seemed to take much longer going up than it did going down.By the time they rushed out, Natasha said they had thirteen minutes.They only way they were getting out fast enough was by flight.Tony was already carrying Peter, but he grabbed Michelle as well and shot off down the tunnel.Rhodey grabbed Natasha and Clint while Sam grabbed Steve and they raced after Tony.They barely made it out of the tunnel and the building over it before the place exploded, creating a massive sinkhole and causing the building to collapse.


	12. Chapter 12

Peter woke up in his bedroom.  He blinked, trying to remember what had happened, then sat up.  His curtains were closed and he was no longer in his Spider-Man suit.  He was wearing sweats and a t-shirt as he laid on the bed.  He didn't have to move to know he was aching all over.  For a second he was confused as to why.  Then he remembered what had happened after he had told Eric to pick on him instead of Michelle.He didn't regret saying that, but sometimes he wondered why he didn't thoroughly think things through before saying them.

"You're awake."Peter looked to his left to see Michelle curled up in a blanket, leaning against the wall beside the bed.He frowned, wondering why she was on the ground."I didn't want to hurt you,"she said, motioning to the floor.

"You wouldn't have,"Peter said quietly, not sure if she had adjusted to her new enhanced senses."How are you holding up?"Michelle shrugged, tugging the blanket around her tighter.

"It's getting better,"she said.Peter climbed off the bed and nearly collapsed.Michelle got up quickly and helped him sit back down on the bed."You're not getting better, though."

"How long have I been out?"Peter asked, letting her push him back down on the bed.He laid down and reached up for Michelle.She grabbed his hand but stayed standing.

"I don't know,"she told him."It's been about 8 hours since we got out."Peter nodded and pulled Michelle onto the bed.She adjusted her blanket and laid down beside him, letting him pull her close and bury his face in her hair.

"I'm sorry,"Peter muttered.Michelle played with his hair as he snuggled close to her."If I had just told Tony where I was going we would have gotten out sooner."

"It's okay,"Michelle said.Peter didn't seem to agree."We're out now and neither of us are dead."

"I kinda feel like I am,"Peter told her.Michelle rolled her eyes.

"That's because you had to go and get yourself tortured,"she replied.Peter shrugged as best he could then hugged her tighter."What did they do to you?"she asked softly.Peter shook his head and tried hiding, but Michelle was having none of it."Peter?"

"I don't wanna think about it,"he said.Michelle sighed but nodded.They stayed on the bed for hours, Peter drifting in and out of sleep.Michelle could hear everything being said downstairs by the Avengers team and stayed awake listening.By the time they had gone to bed themselves, Michelle was having a hard time staying awake.She shifted slightly so she would be more comfortable and Peter moaned.He didn't wake up, though, so she snuggled closer to him and found herself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Michelle had better control of her enhanced senses.She woke up to Peter stroking her hair and the smell of pancakes cooking downstairs.She stretched and Peter sat up, letting her go.He was still sore, but he was able to walk on his own now.The first thing he did was take a shower and Michelle waited for him to finish before going down to breakfast.They were the last ones down, but Sam had saved plenty of pancakes for them both, remembering they now both had higher metabolisms and heightened senses.

"How do you feel, Peter?"Tony asked, walking over to Peter.He shrugged.

"Better, I guess,"he answered.Tony nodded and took a bite of pancake.

"Next time, don't go into an abandoned building without me,"  he said.  Peter nodded and took a plate of pancakes from Michelle.  He doused them in syrup then joined Ned and the rest of the team at the table.  Michelle sat close beside him and Tony was on his other side.  "By the way, May is coming over.  She kinda freaked out.  Her and Pep both." 

"Oh god,"Peter groaned.Tony just nodded, looking sorry for Peter but not any less smug.

"That's what you get for almost getting yourself killed,"  he said.  Peter rolled his eyes. 

"In my defence, I wasn't expecting that,"Peter said.Tony didn't seem to care and when the doorbell rang, he told Peter to answer it.Peter got up from the table and meandered to the door.Sure enough, it was May and Pepper.As soon as they saw him standing in front of them, they both hugged him tightly.Peter held back a grimace and hugged them both.

"How's Michelle?"May asked after scolding Peter for disappearing.

"I'm good,"Michelle said, walking up behind Peter.May hugged her tightly and began to tell her how happy she was they were both okay, but Michelle flinched at the loud noise in her ears.May immediately stopped and looked concerned."It's nothing, May.I just have heightened senses like Peter now and I'm still trying to adjust, so everything's really loud."

"How did that happen?"May asked.Peter explained what had happened while they were missing, leaving out the part about him getting tortured.May looked horrified and apologised profusely for not being more considerate.

"It's okay, you didn't know,"Michelle said.She invited May and Pepper to join them for breakfast which they both happily agreed to.Sam had just sat down to eat his own pancakes, but thankfully there were three more waiting to be eaten.They managed to squeeze May and Pepper around the table so they could eat with them and soon people were beginning to finish.

After everyone made sure Peter and Michelle were both alright, the team flew back to New York.Tony, Pepper, and May stayed a few more days, just to be absolutely sure they were fine.By the time the house was back to just being Peter, Michelle, and Ned, Michelle had adjusted completely to her heightened senses and started teasing Peter about becoming the next big superhero.Peter, of course, said she could not become a superhero, it was too dangerous.He even pointed out that she was too busy with college and he had quit being a full time hero anyway.In the end, Spider-Man did get a new partner, but only on major Avengers' missions and even then, the two argued about the dangers of it.

**The End**


	13. Author’s Note

Hey!  Thanks so much for reading my story.  If you liked it, please check out my other works.  Thanks for reading!


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